Categories
Culture

Troll Squad (formerly Quoll Squad)

Happy Leap Year! It’s a few weeks ago now, but this made me laugh: Troll Squad (formerly Quoll Squad), from the First Dog On The Moon exhibit at Platform, in the Degraves Street subway.

Categories
transport

Some operators DO know how to advertise frequent services

I’ve droned on and on about the importance of frequency in public transport services. I recently pondered why Metro don’t promote their every-10-minutes service from Newport via the City to Frankston. Some of the operators do understand that waiting time is critical, and do advertise when they put on extra services, and/or run frequent services.  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Why sometimes there’s a constant stream of counter-peak trains

Sometimes it seems there are way more trains running in the counter-peak direction than the peak… particularly towards the end of the morning peak, and before the evening peak. This is because there’s little train stabling in the central city area, so most trains have to be sent back to the burbs between the peaks.  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Something missed at PSO training? Stand on the left!

The first Protective Service Officers started duty tonight at Flinders Street and Southern Cross Stations. They may not be the best solution to public transport security, but I’m sure passengers will welcome them, and wish them luck. Yes, PSOs get less training than police. That’s because they have more restricted powers (limited to railway stations  ... [More]

Categories
Clothes music

Freddies!

I feel a bit guilty about this: I re-used a costume party costume. See, I was invited to an 80s Movie/Music/Pop-Culture party, and then a Dead Celebrities a couple of weeks later. Given time constraints and the likelihood of few party guests overlapping, I reasoned that I could knock off both with one costume. Someone  ... [More]

Categories
Going green

Yallourn: impressively big, but inefficient

On the way back from Walhalla, we decided (at Peter’s suggestion) to go via Yallourn. He said there was a lookout with a good view over the Latrobe Valley, and the power plants, and the road through Yallourn was very close to one of them.. We started off by diverting off the road to a  ... [More]

Categories
Travel

A weekend camping

It was the culmination of many trips to Aussie Disposals: over the weekend we went camping to Walhalla – just for one night – at my stepfather Peter’s suggestion. I haven’t been properly camping for almost ten years, and had had to stock up: some more sleeping bags, air-mattresses, a pump, a tent, portable chairs,  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism transport

Myki machines always round prices up, to the next 10 cents

MX got to this before I blogged it. This issue is around Myki Pass (the equivalent fare to a Metcard Monthly/Yearly, but available for any number from 28 to 365 days). To calculate the Pass cost, you take the Myki Pass per day rate (eg zone 1 $4.02) and multiply by the number of days  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism

Drink-driving, anyone?

Perhaps the smallprint says “Do not use the fuel and the alcohol simultaneously.”

Categories
transport

The Metro emergency gate that wasn’t

I noted this about a month ago. The idea of an emergency gate in the Elizabeth Street subway at Flinders Street Station seemed like a good one, but it seemed doubtful that the automatic release would include the padlock. So I tweeted: Ok. I have my doubts that this emergency exit *padlock* is automatic, @MetroTrains  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism Melbourne

2R3YM – That’s the Myers facade backwards

There’s often some interesting pictures to be had from the sixth floor of the renovated Myer store. I snapped these the other day.

Categories
transport

A genuine benefit of Myki: Auto topup, set and forget

Myki has well-known problems. It’s been an incredibly long saga to get it running, and to the point now where it’s pretty reliable and the government is confident enough to push ahead with phasing-out Metcard. The cost to taxpayers has been huge. Touching on and off can be fiddly, particularly in a crowd and particularly  ... [More]